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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25502908">Abandon all hope, all ye who enter</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderstorm30/pseuds/Thunderstorm30'>Thunderstorm30</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Okumura Rin, Canon - Manga, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Light Angst, Little bit graphic, Manga Spoilers, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Rating May Change, Sword fighting less, Tags May Change, Time Travel Fix-It, i know nothing about chess, spoilers but only for the first bit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:40:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25502908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderstorm30/pseuds/Thunderstorm30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>From Gehenna, to Assiah, through time and space. Mephisto has to win, Lucifer has to lose.<br/>Checkmate, a pawn falls. The hands of time rewind. </p><p>Who will make the first move?</p><hr/><p>Or, Mephisto doesn't know how to keep his hands out of things, and sends a pawn back in time to fix his mess.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>147</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Blue exorcist bests</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I feel like every fandom has to have at least one big fix it time travel fic, and I couldn't find one I liked so here i am :') the power of a fanfic writer. Never written for blue exorcist before, so I hope im doing these characters justice, ive rewatched the anime more times than I can count, and recently got around to reading the manga.</p><p>This first bit jumps off directly from chapter 122, but you don't have to have read it. Im using only manga canon to make it simpler for myself, instead of having to deal with combing both the manga and anime canon.<br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I know dont know shit about chess :&gt;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rin was panting, the floor of the ship was cold on his cheek. The light, his heart, he could feel it fading, slowly but surely. He felt bruised and tired.<br/>
"Yukio, are you… actually strong?"<br/>
Yukio was crouching over him, he couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses, only that eerie smile was visible.<br/>
"So you finally realized that? Yes, I am."<br/>
The gun was pressed against his head, spitting black flames at its tip, he could feel the rim of the gun as Yukio roughly pushed it into his head.<br/>
"I win."<br/>
The click of the trigger, Rin tried to pull himself up, anything to avoid the bullet to his head. But it's too late for that. </p><p>There's a bang, and then a second he vaguely registers hitting his heart, and then darkness.</p>
<hr/><p>The first thing he does when he wakes up is not something he will ever admit to, a truly undignified high pitched <i>shriek</i>. He takes a moment to look around and realizes he's… not actually sure where he is? It's a long plain of strangely colored dirt and there appears to be a large collection of mountains in the distance, but apart from that, nothing too <i>earthly</i>. The sky is a strange mix of various colors all swirling together, and despite him being surrounded by hundreds of miles of nothing but flat dirt, the horizon appears to be… curved upwards? </p><p>Rin looks down at himself, and finds his heart looking perfectly fine, his clothing isn't ripped from the fight, and if he concentrates he can feel his fire moving through him, his human heart pumping human blood matches the rhythm of his demon heart, releasing his flames like a liquid. That's probably the strangest part because despite his last memories being shot by his brother he's… surprisingly calm, at peace. </p><p>Of course, these few seconds of bliss have to be interrupted. </p><p>"Rin! My boy, you're awake! <i>Good for you~</i>"<br/>
Mephisto purrs out that least part, disturbingly creepy, as always. Rin almost finds himself having the demon equivalent of a heart attack at the shock.<br/>
"Heeeeey Samuel, or Mephisto, or whatever I'm supposed to call you." he grimaces, awkwardly waving at the jester before him. Mephisto, Rin has just realized, is ridiculously large, so it comes as a bit of a shock when he's picked up by the collar of his coat between two ridiculously large gloved fingers, like a kitten being picked by his scruff. Rin pouts.<br/>
"Now now dear brother, there's no need to be impolite. I'm sure you have questions, <i> why aren't I dead? Where is this place? Why is Mephisto so tall?</i> All important questions of course, but nothing for you to worry about dear." Mephisto imitates Rin's own voice when saying the questions, hearing your own voice from someone else's mouth is truly a trip to experience. The time demon shakes his other hand, wrist limp, as he talks, swinging Rin around slightly, who is still hanging from the other hand. </p><p>"What do you mean nothing for me to worry about! Ex-fucking-scuse you! I'm the one who was killed here!" Rin shouts, indignant, pointing a finger at Mephisto and trying his best to get up in the other's face. Well, the best you can when you're hanging 5 feet in the air from the others giant hand. </p><p>The time demon, clearly deeply perturbed by the small screeching <i>child</i>, holds the flailing demon out as far as possible from his face. </p><p>"Are you done yet?" he raises an eyebrow.<br/>
Rin huffs, a puff of smoke coming out of his nose, and glares, crossing his arms.<br/>
"Yes." his face is scrunched up into a less than attractive grimace.<br/>
"Good." Mephisto let's out a sigh. </p><p>"Alright, well, first of all, the easiest question to answer is where we are: Gehenna." it takes a couple seconds for Rin to process the information, but when he does he begins squirming again.<br/>
"Huh? I just thought you dragged me to one of your weird pocket dimensions," Rin squints at his elder brother. "But you're serious, this is <i>Gehenna</i>?" he raises an eyebrow.<br/>
"Yes, although this is just one section of this place, on Earth this is a lush rainforest, here? It's a desert, I thought it would be safer than dropping you in the middle of a scuffuffle or something of the like." Rin's face lost its glare as Mephisto spoke.<br/>
"Huh, okay. Easy question, why are you so big?" Rin tilted his head, curious.<br/>
"Well, that's simple! In Gehenna, I have no body, so I can control my shape at a whim. I chose this larger form in case you got too violent, which has definitely come in handy. I am indeed referring to your toddler tantrum." Mephisto looked as pleased as the cat who got the cream, his smirk was suspicious to Rin, who decided glaring was now back in fashion. His arms that had been dangling were now crossed, and he was trying his best to scrunch his shoulders mid-air. And so, vexed with his situation and feeling immature, he stuck out his tongue. Mephisto just grimaced at the sight.<br/>
"Yes yes, very mature. Anyway, I suppose I should explain to you the entire reason you're here." </p><p>Rin found himself on a much too large chair, victorian style, and ridiculously ornate. With Mephisto sitting beside him on another large chair, except it fit him proportionally. In front of them was now a chess set, the pieces were all over the board, the board was obviously mid-game.<br/>
"You see Rin, despite me not being able to see past this point in the future, my plan must go on. And it was most definitely not in the plan for me to lose a pawn." on the chessboard before them a piece moved to checkmate one of the pawn pieces, the sound of the absurdly large chess piece falling over made Rins ears ring.<br/>
"So why am I here?" Rin turned to look over at Mephisto, who looked to be in an inner turmoil, something going on behind his eyes. A rare sight, the king of time wearing his emotions on his sleeve.<br/>
"I've come across a method that will bring you back in the game, and also place us a more than a few steps ahead of the enemy team."</p><p>Suddenly, the chest board before them began to move, pieces placing themselves back to their proper positions, until there were only three pieces out of place, a king pawn about to checkmate a bishop and a pawn piece one square ahead of its place. </p><p>"I can send you back to the day before you found out about demons, it will give you little time to plan, and your demon heart will be trapped in Kurikara again, but time is a strange thing. It's almost like playing a video game, there are certain key moments, like checkpoints, whether they are moments of great change or realization, that leave a slight gap for you to just… slip into. It's harder to find just another mundane day in the stream of time, but a key moment of change leaves a much bigger mark to pinpoint. If I were to send you back at any other point there's a risk it could be mid-battle or a point where it would disrupt my plan altogether if you were to change it mid-happening. Of course, it means a lot more work, but I don't think you'd mind a blank canvas. A start over." as Mephisto finished his monologue he turned to make eye contact with Rin. A full-body shiver was sent up his spine, there was too much behind his eyes. Rin ran his hands through his hair and sighed, this was… a lot to think about. </p><p>"So Yukio won't hate me? And Shiro will be alive?" he was tired, Rin could feel it down to his bones, a heavy ache, fatigue had settled in. "I guess, that might be nice, even if it's just for a day. But all my friends won't know who-" Rin was cut off by Mephisto's gleeful reply.<br/>
"<i>Wonderful~!</i> Enjoy the trip down, it's a bit of bumpy ride!" Mephisto's grin was filled with malice.<br/>
"Wait what-" the chair he was sitting on opened up into a swiping tunnel of colors and light. "HANG ON I'M NOT DOOOOOOOOOONE!" he tried to yell out at Mephisto, but his words just extended as he fell.</p><p>The millions of colors passing by him made him wanna puke. </p><p>He stated up at the light of the tunnel and watched it get further and further away until it was just a speck. He was never going to see his friends again, they would still be the same people, but they wouldn't be the same people he'd fought with, they would have made none of the character progress or experience. He just hoped he didn't fuck it up this time. </p><p>"Goodbye." tears fell from his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>The world went dark.</p>
<hr/><p>Falling into a body was not a fun experience, in fact, it was like falling over the drop of a roller-coaster. He had to stop his stomach from coming out of his mouth.<br/>
"Bleugh!" he stuck his tongue out as he tried to gain his balance back. The trip through time and space from Gehenna to Assiah was <i>disorienting<i>. </i></i></p><p>
  <i>
    <i>"Rin? Are you okay? Why did you stop mid-sentence kid?" </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Oh fuck. This was the argument that sparked Satan possessing Shiro, this was the moment that precursed his dad <i>dying</i>. </i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Mephisto fucked up.</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Awakening</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this in a mad dash so apologies if it's not too great 👉👈 never the less I had a lot of fun writing it! Hope you enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just…” Rin was slightly taken aback at the sight, tears welling up in his eyes. <i>Dad</i>, it was really him. Even after everything he’d learned about Shiro and his history in section 13, time made the hurt worse. Because, truly, he had missed his Dad, even just seeing his face hurt <b>so bad</b>. “I missed you <i>so much.</i>” he moved forward to embrace Shiro, a wide grin spreading on his face as he silently cried. He had to keep him safe, he couldn’t lose him again. A blank canvas. Another chance.</p><p>“Rin, are you sure you're okay? I’m sorry this has to happen but I have to protect you. You don’t know who will come looking for you, powerful demons Rin. Forces I don’t want messing with you.” Shiro looked concerned as he spoke. It was just a natural reaction, he was telling himself, a world-shattering change on an already unstable soul? Of course, Rin was going to be distressed. It's for the best, Mephisto can keep him safe.</p><p>Wait for a second, backtrack, what did he say?<br/>
“You… missed me?” Shiro held Rin out at arm's length, and really <i>looked</i> at him. </p><p>Tear stained cheeks. Messy black hair. A bandage on his cheek. A crinkled suit. Nothing was out of place. Strange.<br/>
“Sorry, was that a funny thing to say? I mean I’ll miss you, stumbled over my words there.” he awkwardly chuckled, scratching the back of his head and squinting as he spoke.</p><p>Right. Okay. Something was off. His gut was telling him something was wrong, it was like Rin had flipped a switch to 'cheerful'. </p><p>“Why are you looking at me like that? I know, I look dumb when I cry.” Okay. Did he fuck up with the crying thing? Shiro was just. Staring at him. It was kind of unnerving, to be honest. How close was Shiro to being possessed by Satan? How much time did he have?</p><p>Quick, he had to think of something. Uh okay, what happened last time? </p><p>They were arguing and then… Shiro hit him! And that's when Satan took over. But obviously, he’d jumped in just before stopping that emotional peak, so where was Satan?</p><p>A look of fear passed over Shiro’s face as he began to contort, leaning over into a hunch.<br/>
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” he pushed Rin back.</p><p>Oh look there he is, perfect timing. Thanks so much, Satan.</p><p>“MY… DEAR SON.” demonic eyes, a whole universe trapped within the flesh of a mortal, sharp teeth fit for a predator. “HOW I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS MOMENT…” Satan erupted in flame, framing the room in a blinding bright blue. </p><p>“MWA HA HA HA! SOMETIMES I CRACK MYSELF UP!! MWA HA HA HA!!” as the flames started to dim, dark blood was visible running from his eyes and nose, trickling out and smudging all over his features as his face contorted unnaturally, each word seemed to stretch and pull at the skin and muscle in a disturbingly strange fashion, the click of bones repositioning and ligaments stretching was almost loud against the otherwise silence of the room. A serpent tongue flicking this way and that as he spoke, ears pointing out like an eldritch-twist on an elf. This was really happening all over again.</p><p>"HIYA JUNIOR! HOW YA BEEN? I CAME ALL THE WAY HERE TO GREET YOU, MY DARLING BOY! AREN'T YOU THE LEAST BIT GRATEFUL?" his voice boomed throughout the church, polluting the sacred ground with his presence. </p><p>"Satan…" Rin was staring at the ground, trying to think as time ran out. </p><p>"AH! SO YOU'RE WELL VERSED! THEN YOU KNOW I'M THE GOD OF DEMONS AND YOUR DEAR OL' DADDY DEAREST! MWA HA HA!" he couldn't find it in himself to look at the horrifying sight, he was so close to saving his Dad, yet so far. He had to come up with something. </p><p>"Get out of my Dad." the words came out softer than he meant them to, but his flames still erupted anyway. He hadn't noticed how strange the absence of them had been, but the warmth was almost reassuring, a pat on the back. He could do this. He could get Satan out of his dad before he exhausted his body and opened the Gehenna gate. </p><p>He just had to think… </p><p>"I WAS PLANNING TO! THIS OLD FART WON'T LAST MUCH LONGER, NO MATERIAL IN ASSIAH IS EQUAL TO ME! EVERYTHING I TOUCH IS CORRUPTED! LIKE THIS BODY… AND YOUR MOTHER!" Satan's flames began to grow in size again, he could see the skin beginning to peel away, the blood flowing ever faster, his poor dad beginning to dissolve under the weight of a <i>god</i> possessing his mortal body, stripping him of his physical form. </p><p>Wait, the flames! </p><p>That's it! Satan was made of the blue flame, Rin can control the blue flame, all he has to do is just… pull him out of Shiro. A bit of a stretch, and an unconventional method of exorcism, but hopefully it might work. <i>Might</i>. </p><p>He finally made eye contact with the beast.</p><p>A million stars and galaxies lay before him, the power of something far greater, the mindset of a child, and the predatorial glare of a <i>beast</i>. </p><p>Don't back down. Don't back down. Don't back down. </p><p>"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY DAD!" he drew the koma sword, and the flames <i>erupted</i>.</p><p>Quickly, he chucked the 200-year-old artifact against a wall and began his plan. The plan he came up with less than a minute ago. </p><p>He raised his arms and focused on the flames curling around him, flowing through him, matching pace with his human heart. He reached out into the air towards Satan, and his flames, almost as if they were meant for this, grabbed on <i>tight</i>. </p><p>"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Satan was not pleased, but he had an anchor he couldn't afford to lose. And so, he began to play the most important game of tug of war he'd ever played in his life. </p><p>He began to move back, pulling with all his might. Satan was bucking like a bull, abusing the already fragile body, no care for the body in his beast-like state. It was like if you'd shown a red flag to a bull, he was ready and raring to go. </p><p>How could he get leverage? </p><p>"Dad! I know you're in there! Please, fight back!" it was desperate, but Shiro had fought back last time, Rin had faith he could do it again. So he just kept tugging and pulling, with all his might, fueled by the thoughts of his friends, and all the people who could be safe and well if only Shiro survived. Maybe Yukio would've been okay if Dad had stuck around. </p><p>"I'm here!" Shiro called, a voice distinctly his own, and suddenly the flames seemed to come much easier, helping him make more ground much quicker. There were only the last few sparks of the flame left in Shiro, as soon as they were out Satan would be forced back to Gehenna, and Shiro would still be alive. The easier it became to pull, the easier it was for Shiro to fight back, they worked in tandem until finally…</p><p>BWOOSH! The last of the flame ripped out of Shiro, and as Satan lost possession, Shiro, bloody and bruised, fell to the floor. </p><p>"Dad?" he sunk to his knees beside Shiros limp figure. He looked pale and just… <i>not great</i>, face covered in blood, skin patchy and dry. "Please tell me you're alright! Not again, not ever again."</p><p>His eyes opened slightly, flickering open for a second.<br/>
"It's okay, kid." it was gurgled, and slightly slurred, but holy shit! He had done it! Dad was alive! He began to cry, again. </p><p>"Although I do desperately need medical attention at like, a hospital. Please call one of the ministers." oh jeez he did not sound great, nice to see he kept his sense of humor even in critical condition though. </p><p>"Okay dad." he practically purred the sentence, and the smile on his face was a warm one.</p>
<hr/><p>Shiro's room was chaos as various medics moved in and out, checking on the priest and taking unnecessarily hard to read notes, or mumbling to another doctor under their breath, looking all professional and such. Rin was standing at the back of the room, trying to avoid interrupting things, he'd shoved his tail in his pants (he would have to get used to that again, eugh), Yukio was standing solemnly beside him. </p><p>"So you know everything now?" Yukio looked tired, and despite the complete timeline change, he looked much too like the Yukio that had shot him for Rin's liking. </p><p>"Yep, or as much as he could tell me before he got possessed." Rin was trying his best to act casual, he'd tried to summarise what'd happened to his younger brother: he had awakened, he knew about exorcists, Dad had gotten possessed, he'd drawn Kurikara, bla bla bla. </p><p>"Yeah I get that, but there's one thing I'm skeptical of." Yukio was <i>glaring</i> at him, the audacity. </p><p>"How did dad survive getting possessed by <b>Satan</b>?" </p><p>Shit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there you have it! Hope you enjoyed, I'm gonna go over and grammar check this in the morning as it is 1am for me and I wrote a majority of this on my phone. Pls leav comments they are much appreciated :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I cannot believe myself. I literally posted a chapter yesterday and yet here we are. This never happens i'm genuinely shocked at myself. Anyway, have fun with this one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Did he tell him the truth, or did he fumble through a lie?</p>
<p>Lies had gotten him here in the first place, he didn’t want to lie to Yukio again. He couldn't do it.<br/>“I exorcised Satan.” okay, that may have been a bit blunt. Yukio just stared at him like he was lunatic.<br/>“You… what? How? Huh?” <i>Yukio</i> was lost for words? Shit, maybe the truth was too much. Did he break him? He wasn’t even lecturing him about being irresponsible, just… staring at him.<br/>“Well I mean, I just figured I can control the blue flames, right? And Renka is made of blue flames. So I just… pulled him out. It was a bit of a struggle though.” Yukio was just staring at him blankly. Rin was pretty sure he was just making it worse.</p>
<p>“Did you… play what was <i>effectively tug of war with Satan?” Okay, great start at this new timeline! Really hitting it out of the park with this one! Fucking christ, he really should come up with a plan for this world, shouldn't he? </i><br/>“Yeah, effectively.” Yukio just stared at him incredulously. And then he was greeted by something he hadn’t heard from his brother in far too long. </p>
<p>Peals of laughter, chiming like church bells. Genuine, unadulterated laughter! From <i>Yukio</i>! </p>
<p>“HA HA HA Rin, you say the strangest things. You know I've been thinking about what to say to you once you found out for… God, who knows how long. And now I finally have the chance.” Yukio turned to him, a fond smile on his face, warmth lighting up his eyes. Together they stood, two brothers, interaction filled with the joy of mutual companionship.</p>
<p>When did these moments stop happening?</p>
<p>“Rin, I don’t blame you for what happened to father. But I can't pretend… I want to be honest with you… I don’t think you should become an exorcist. Knowing you, you’ll wanna jump right in to protect father's honor, but I’ve been able to see demons since before I could crawl. I’ve been studying to be an exorcist since I was 7. I didn’t have a choice. I had to be able to fight back to get over my fear. But you? You have a chance to go back to being a normal human. You’ve met Satan! You know how terrifying demons can be! Being an exorcist is not the line of work you should take up! You should do something less risky, like a chef.” Needless to say, that was not what he had been expecting for him to say. </p>
<p>He’d expected some more along the lines of ‘it’s all your fault’ or ‘your too dangerous to be around me’ and something more along the lines of ‘you should just die’. Was this really all Yukio had a problem with this time around?<br/>“Yeah no, I’m becoming an exorcist.”</p>
<p>“But Rin you don’t understand the risk-” Okay, that was enough of that from him.<br/>“I understand the risks, I’m well aware. But, as you said, ‘I’ve met Satan’. I know <i>exactly</i> what I'm getting into.” Yukio wasn’t entirely sure what to think of his brother at this moment in time. He’d never seen that kind of look on Rin’s face before. It was serenity incarnate, it was calm. And behind the eyes? Pure determination. Was there really no talking him out of it? Did Rin know how much he would give to be in his position, to turn down the life of an exorcist? Rin was in the position where Shiro treated him like a <i>son</i> instead of just a pawn to play. Yukio… he would <i>kill</i> for that chance.</p>
<p>It couldn’t hurt to ask one last time.<br/>“Are you sure?” Please say no.</p>
<p>“Yes.” Yukio couldn’t understand, because of course, to him, this was the first time Rin had awakened. If Rin <i>didn’t</i> become an exorcist who knows what would happen to his friends. Shiemi would never leave the garden, the impure king would rise and probably succeed, Izumo would be returned to the Illuminati and killed in the process. Not becoming an exorcist wasn’t an option, but Yukio seemed to think it was.</p>
<p>“An exorcist, hm? Not unexpected, you always had a bit more <i>fire</i> than your brother.” Mephisto decided now was a great time to interrupt, poofing into existence in front of the two wallflower brothers. <br/>“Mephisto? What are you doing here?” Yukio looked slightly frazzled from the demon king's sudden appearance, whereas Rin was… also kind of miffed. No amount of Mephisto was enough to desensitize you. <br/>“Well I heard the news and I had to come to check in on my <i>dear Paladin</i>!” Mephisto’s tone was nothing but sappy and condescending as he poofed right over beside Shiro to pat him on the head like a dog, truly patronizing. Luckily the medics had all but dispersed apart from a lone few that had stayed to set up equipment and monitor the priests vitals, so none too many were there to witness Mephisto mocking such an important figure. <br/>“Hey don’t touch him he’s still-” Yukio was cut off once again in less than a 5-minute time span.</p>
<p>“Well you see I had to come to check in on your dear brother here, adorable isn’t he?” Rin’s cheek was being pinched and stretched out by Mephistos gloved hand, like some kind of old eldritch grandmother. The demon king's skill at making everyone in his vicinity absolutely infuriated was a unique skill he had perfected over many years. “The original orders from the Vatican was to kill him, of course, they view him as a liability, but the son of satan an exorcist? I think we can make an exception, don't you?” as he spoke, he made eye contact with Rin, and immediately he knew that Samael was in the know. </p>
<p>Thank the lord for that, Jesus Christ. Whatever tension had been on Rin’s shoulders finally melted away, he finally had an ally in this upside-down world. He wasn’t entirely sure how this worked, but he wasn’t about to question a good thing.<br/>“Um, but Mr. Mephisto sir, we still haven’t gotten Shiro’s approval, and are you sure the Vatican would be okay with this?” Yukio was still trying his darndest to stop Rin from becoming an exorcist, it was kind of endearing honestly.</p>
<p>Samael stared at Yukio with an all-knowing stare and really <i>went</i> for Yukio’s soft spots. “Shiro was already prepared and ready for Rin to become an exorcist since day one, don’t you trust your father's judgment? Now if you’d excuse us, I have some things to discuss with your very important and <b>powerful</b>l brother, classified information and all that jazz.” Now of course Mephisto was bluffing, Shiro had made no such plans with him, and Rin wasn’t all that powerful compared to his brother, but the boy didn’t know that and he liked to see people <i>squirm</i>. Besides, he’d been quite the ass the first time around, nothing like kicking the fight out of someone before they became a threat. Now, for the main event.</p>
<p>He dragged Rin by the ear into the corner of the room, luckily the room was large enough that the most you might be able to hear from Yukio’s position were a mumble. </p>
<p>So of course, once they were far enough away, Rin took the opportunity to bite back and chew Mephisto out. Starting by, of course, tugging at <i>his</i> ear. <br/>“OW OW OW! Why would you do that!” Mephisto was whining at Rin like a toddler, served him right. He stuck his tongue out at him, even the playing field.<br/>“This is for tugging my ear! And also, you know, dumping me 2 days too early in time!” Rin was, of course, pouting, to strengthen the character of ‘angry toddler’ of course.<br/>“Yes, I’m sorry about that, I may have fucked up with the timing slightly- OW! Okay, maybe I majorly fucked up! You happy?” Mephisto asked the question like seeing the demon king apologize would make everything better.<br/>“No of course not! I had to deal with Satan like 5 minutes in! I was supposed to be given at least 48 hours of prep time! But uhh, you know it wasn’t an entire fuck up. I think I’m kind of liking this blank canvas.” Rin was looking up fondly at Shiro’s sleeping form, and then over at Yukio, who had sunk into one of the chairs against the wall and was now scrutinizing their conversation from afar. Ah, classic younger brother I-need-to-know-everything complex.<br/>“Very sweet, familial affection. Speaking of familial affection, where's the respect your older brother deserves, I could literally throw you back into the time stream and abandon you in some random worst-case scenario.” Aaaand Mephisto was back to pouting again.</p>
<p>“Fine, <i>big brother</i>, what's the deal? Will I be going to True Cross with Yukio then?”<br/>“Yes very good, I do appreciate the honorifics. Of course, you’ll be starting school with Yukio on Monday, but coincidentally they’ve decided to do repairs on the cram school, something about a Hobgoblin infestation being a danger to students, so cram school won’t start until Sunday. Is that a good enough apology? It’ll give you a night to rest and say goodbye to your childhood home and then a day to prepare, less than promised but you’ve already gotten past the most difficult part!” Rin squinted at him.</p>
<p>“What, Satan?” Oh god, this boy would be the death of Samael, and he was effectively immortal.<br/>“No you dimwit, Yukio’s attitude! <i>Yes Satan!</i>” Rin was exhausted, a valid excuse for his idiocy. He still felt pretty dumb though. Scratching the back of his head, he began “So what are we gonna do about the Shiro? And the Vatican?”<br/>“We’re not gonna tell the Vatican shit, they have political power, but any actual power has long been bred out of their bloodlines. Shiro is up for you to decide, although you being an exorcist is most <i>definitely</i> not approved by him. I’ll have to vouch for you, and hopefully, he’ll just think it's just part of my devious plan to take advantage of you so I can defeat Satan.” Mephisto looked… nervous, it was kind of weird.<br/>“Hey, why do you sound so unsure? Can’t you see the future?” Rin's situational awareness was less than subpar.<br/>“No, I can’t. I can't see any of the timestream, none of the outcomes are visible to me and while yes, there is a certain degree of anxiety that comes along with it, it is mostly just <i>thrilling</i>!” The last word was purred out. Mephisto was, as always, positively <i>creepy</i>. How refreshing. </p>
<p>Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Mephisto poofed into his dog form, just in time as ministers began to stream in.<br/>“Is Shiro all right?”<br/>“What's wrong with the priest?” All manner of worries and shouts could be heated from the congregation.</p>
<p>Somewhere in their conversation, Yukio had started napping in an extremely uncomfortable looking position, so he looked a bit <i>disheveled</i> as he stood up to greet and calm the ministers. Oh god, that chair can <i>not</i> have been good for his back the boy was hunching, grunting in pain as he straightened up.</p>
<p>“Apologies for having to take this form, they mustn't know I was here, can’t have the principal of True Cross Academy just dilly-dallying in a makeshift hospital room. I’ll see you tomorrow, the dorm is the same as always. Thought you might appreciate some consistency.” And with that final parting message, Mephisto waddled out of the room.</p>
<p>Yukio was busy with the ministers and Shiro was quite literally in a coma. Best to take this opportunity and <i>scramble</i>. Don’t think they’d mind an early dinner?</p>
<hr/>
<p>The limousine was surprisingly more comfortable than last time, now that he wasn’t distracted with the situation he could appreciate a nice car ride, although it did smell a bit like cotton candy. The rumble of the car was almost kind of reassuring.</p>
<p>“All the academic facilities are gathered here. You’re looking at the center of True Cross Town.”</p>
<p>The city was vast and sprawling, the buildings looped in and around each other, arches, overhangs, and all manner of interesting features were crammed into the town. It was surrounded by a harbor and built itself up almost vertically. It looked like a castle in a way, surrounded by a moat, filled with the hustle and bustle of people, and of course, occupied by the Knights of the True Cross.</p>
<p>It helped that it felt a lot like home.</p>
<p>“Welcome to <b>True Cross Academy</b>.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We have finally arrived at True Cross Academy! Jesus Christ that only took 5000 words :') </p>
<p>This is just becoming a Rin and Mephisto buddy comedy, their interactions are so much fun to write, this entire thing is gonna be filled with bits like this. I think I did Yukio justice? Idk he's probably the hardest to write. </p>
<p>If you're here thank you so much for reading! If you did enjoy (or even if you didn't!) leave a comment, it is quite literally how I updated this so quickly. Validation of work is a <i>powerful</i> motivation.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Key</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh boy, sorry for the wait, I've been slightly busy. This one's a bit of along one, but in the future I'd like for them to be even longer. Just writing a 1000 or 2000 word chapter doesn't sit right with me, I wanna give y'all something more meaty.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The car came to a halt, the brothers gathered their things, Yukio making his way out of the car. As Rin moved to head out of the car after his brother, uniform neatly donned (this time), Mephisto pulled him down to whisper in his ear. “You have a plan, don’t you?”<br/>“Yes of course.” How dare he? Rin was <i>totally</i> prepared. He’d written down everything major, and came up with a basic action plan for a majority of them<br/>“Good.” The passive-aggressive squint he was given by Mephisto was an obvious sign that it was <i>not</i> good. Oh well, he had an entrance ceremony to get to.</p><p>“Yukio come on! A certain someone has to represent their school at the entrance ceremony, right?” Rin skipped away, carrying both of their bags in an oblivious use of strength, Yukio immediately blushed.<br/>“Where did you hear that?” He was hiding behind his hand, what a funny guy.<br/>Rin was jumping and skipping around, walking backward as he addressed his younger brother. “Mephisto told me about a couple things, like how you’re a teacher at the cram school now? When were you gonna let me know that?” <br/>“Um… when you see me in class later today? That was the plan.” Yukio looked incredibly taken aback. What was his reason for hiding it this time? Last time Rin assumed it had been out of hate for him blaming Rin for their father's death, but this time everything had gone right, so what was up?</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rin looked, distressed? No, that wasn’t the right word. Hurt. He looked hurt. Unbeknownst to Rin, Yukio <i>did</i> have a reason. A kinda dumb reason, in Yukio’s educated opinion.<br/>“You’ll think it's stupid.” Yukio shoved his hands in his face again.<br/>“Come on man, it can’t be that stupid, can it?” Rin’s face was oblivious. Yukio mumbled the answer into his hands.<br/>“What was that? I can’t hear you bud.” He turned his head like a confused cat.<br/>“I… I didn’t want you to feel bad about being a D grade student.” Yukio was blushing in full force now.<br/>“Awww Yukio!” tears were welling up in his eyes. He was a sap, what could he say? But that did kinda hurt. “Come here.” Rin pulled him into a hug, dropping the bags.<br/>“Rin! Don’t push it.” His mouth was in a frown, but his eyes were filled with fondness.<br/>“Sorry.” Rin was grinning wide, god he’d missed Yukio so bad.</p><hr/><p>The Entrance ceremony was over and Rin had told Yukio to go on without him, but the commute to cram school would not be without company. So he sat, waiting on some extravagant stone pillar.</p><p>Around the corner, a little white dog came waddling along, a pink polka dot ribbon tied around its neck and holding a little fancy key in its mouth.<br/>“Hey, Mephisto!” He jumped down from the pillow and, crouching down, put his hand out. Mephisto plopped the key into his hand. Surprisingly, no dog slobber. Neat! </p><p>They began to walk towards a miscellaneous door, Rin holding the key out.<br/>“So what’s your plan?” the time demon looked up at him, expectantly.<br/>“Number 1, separate sword to fight with other than Kurikara, I can’t just be walking around with the gate to my demon heart out all the time.” Rin was struggling to open the door.<br/>“That could be arranged. Number 2?” The dog couldn’t believe his eyes, he hadn’t turned the key all the way. What a fucking dumbass.<br/>“Number 2, loop Shura early into teaching me sword skills. I wanna be better at the technical part so I’m not just fighting with brute force.” He finally realized his mistake and turned the key fully, opening the door to the long hallway<br/>“Surprisingly intuitive of you, a number 3 perhaps?” The dog looked around, was this the wrong hallway of the cram school? But there was only one hallway?<br/>“Number 3, deal with the impure king early on. We could arrange a field trip to the Kyoto branch or something? We’d have to come up with an excuse though.” Rin wasn’t sure if this was the right hallway either, shouldn’t they have come to the classroom already or something?<br/>“No, no, that could be arranged. I don’t see why we couldn’t just use it as a learning opportunity for those of you from other areas, and I don’t think your classmates from Kyoto would mind a trip back home. Anything else I should know about?” Yeah, there was something wrong with this hallway.<br/>“Um yeah, Number 4, I wanna help out my classmates with some of their more personal troubles, I know it's kinda selfish and doesn’t really help the future. But I want them all to be a bit more stable this time around, I’ve got a second chance. I know at least a few of them would do a lot better than me with this opportunity. Oh! And I'm going to keep an eye on what Shima witnesses, can’t have the Illuminati knowing anything is up.” Shit, did this corridor go on forever?</p><p>“That’s sweet, sure I’ve got a bunch of power, why not run loose through time with it? It's thoughtful that you think you're going to hide anything from anybody, a lot of your charm, Rin, is your delightful obliviousness to the impacts of your actions, good, or bad. The Illuminati will know something is up. Let them. Ignoring that, this corridor is definitely far too long and I feel we should address it.”<br/>“Oh thank god I didn’t wanna say anything in case it was just one of your hijinks. So what’d I do wrong to get us here?” They both stopped in the middle of the hallway, it did appear to have an end, but none of the doors had been the classroom of the cram school. Everything else matched it though.</p><p>“Rin… I may have an idea where we are.” Mephisto was perplexed, perhaps it was his DNA on the key (there had been dog slobber, just not a lot of it), or maybe Rin was slightly more powerful than he had imagined, but he did know that they had moved somewhere <i>slightly</i> outside of the academy. “We’re in Section 13.”</p><p>“What.” Rin was… confused was an understatement.<br/>“Yeah I know, shocking to me too, I thought I was more aware of time and space than that but, y’know, sometimes you fuck up with your intentions. Did you have something on your mind?” Mephisto had reverted to human form for a second, looking around for a door.<br/>“I was just thinking about what to tell you… and slightly frustrated with the key, but nothing related to this place.” Rin was lying.<br/>“You sure?” Aha! A shut door with a keyhole.<br/>“Okay, I may have been thinking about Dad, Shiro, y’know. It’s just weird that this time around I get to show him how strong I am. I’m gonna be such a good exorcist!” His face was covered in childish glee.<br/>“You really are just a kid, aren’t you?” Mephisto had the key, somehow, and was opening the door to an identical corridor, hopefully, the cram school this time. “The thought probably shouldn’t have been enough to send us here, but there's bound to be strange happenings when you mess with time.” They began their walk down the hall once again.<br/>“16 in December, in this timeline anyway. That's a funny thing to say, I’m really young, aren’t I?.” Mephisto reverted back to his dog form as they walked.</p><p>“Anyway, we’re here, not late somehow. Time works in funny ways.” They entered the classroom, a sense of Deja Vu went through Rin as he smelt the mold and the familiarity of the room, its many cobwebs and the many layers of dust coating everything, it was familiar in a strange way. </p><p>Rin moved towards his desk, taking in his classmates. Paku and Izumo sitting next to each other, Takara at the front, the Kyoto trio squished between two desks, and Shura sitting in the back. </p><p>As soon as he spotted Shura’s hooded figure, he knew he was about to make a <i>very</i> dumb decision. He diverted his direction towards the back, and once he reached her desk, slammed his hand down. Mephisto, in dog form, raised his eyebrows slightly.<br/>“Hey! Up here!” Come on Shura, play nice.<br/>“Hm?” Okay, not very responsive, but this was Shura we’re talking about, he had to be nice. Couldn’t have her already not-great view of him tarnished any further, he was just Shiro’s son, not anything dangerous this time around. <br/>“Look, I know this time around you where probably put here to look out for me, I know Dad doesn’t want me here. But could I talk to you after class? Cool, thanks!” And with that, Rin clumsily made his way back to his desk. He had definitely weirded her out, but he’d gotten her attention! Small victories. </p><p>As he sat down, Mephisto bounded onto his lap and then up onto the table.<br/>“You’ve got some strange methods Rin, but you’re definitely fun to watch.” Mephisto was making himself comfortable, flattening his little dog body down.<br/>“Glad someone finds my wonderful communication skills amusing.” Oh boy, here comes Yukio. At least this time around he was going to be respectful. Where were the hobgoblins going to come from this time though? </p><p>“Quiet down, class. Take your seats, please.” Yukio entered the class in full exorcist regalia, briefcase in one hand, and a cage with a hobgoblin in the other. “Class will now begin.” He placed his items on the desk before him and began his introduction. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Yukio Okumura. I’ll be your anti-demon pharmaceuticals instructor.” A few faces in the class looked a bit taken aback. “As you may have guessed… I’m a new instructor who’s the same age as you. But with regard to exorcism, I’m two years ahead of you… so please address me as ‘Mr. Okumura’” That seemed to settle any critical faces. “So… who here has never encountered temptaint before? Raise your hand.” Three people raised their hands. </p><p>God, wasn’t this funny? In a different time, Rin had fought side by side with these people, yet right now some of them couldn’t even see demons.</p><p>The temptaint ritual proceeded, the hobgoblin scratching through the bars of the cage. Yukio taught something about mixing something with… something. Rin wasn’t really listening, he’d decided to take a nap on the desk. Somewhere along the way, Mephisto had waddled out, off to go do… something. He didn’t know, the king of time was hard to understand. Eventually, they reached the end of class without too much fuss, without Shiemi it felt a little weird. Almost comfortingly, Ryuji had been glaring at him while he napped, so at least something was consistent. Fortunately, he didn’t have time to squabble with him today, their legendary rivalry-to-friendship would have to wait. A deal would have to be made with Shura.</p><p>As class ended, Yukio looked at him, concern clear on his face. But he just cleared up his belongings and left the room. The rest of the students trailed out, while Shura and Rin sat in silence.</p><p>The door closed, and then it was just the two of them.</p><p>Rin began to stretch, letting his tail unfurl and relaxing his muscles. His fangs lengthened a little bit, and his ears extended outwards slightly.<br/>“So, Shura.” He didn’t even blink before Shura was up in his face, standing on the desk with her hood down.</p><p>“Who told you I was here?” She was glaring at him, rude much?<br/>“Mephisto.” It was the truth, kind of.<br/>“Okay, that sounds about right. What do you want?” Did she really think so lowly of him? It wasn’t this hard to win her over last time, although she wasn’t pulling her ‘look at me I'm just an innocent and unprotected lady’, so the genuineness was nice.<br/>“Sword fighting lessons.” Her serious facade fell, she was visibly confused and slightly taken aback.<br/>“You want what from me? Did the old man sign you up for this? What do you even know about me?” There it was again, the serious facade, the glare was back, skeptical this time. Ooh! New flavor of aggressive, great.</p><p>“Well, I know you’re a great sword fighter. And Dad trusts you, so I do too. Don’t worry, he didn’t sign me up for this. But I do want to have something to protect me other than brute force and my flames, and I know you’re one of the top two swordsmen in the order, so who better?” She backed down, stepping off the desk.<br/>“Okay. One rule. Don’t tell Shiro about this. I’ll meet you when I’m ready to teach you.” She held her hand out.<br/>“Okay.” Rin shook her hand and smiled. Her face settled on passive. Progress!</p><p>“See you tomorrow!” And with that, he walked out the classroom door. Leaving Shura staring, perplexed, at the closed door of the classroom.</p><p>“What a strange guy. This’ll be fun.” A small smirk made its way to her face.</p><hr/><p>“Hey, I know you’re studying, good on you, but I’ve got an outing. You wanna come?” Look, Rin was trying to be a good student this time around, even if he didn’t pay much attention in class. But, this was the day he met Shiemi, Chapter 3: Question 8 could wait.</p><p>“Sure! Do I need to bring anything?” He closed his book and moved to join Yukio at the door, who was already turning a key.</p><p>“Just yourself.” Yukio smiled fondly at him. </p><p>He enjoyed the less aggressive Yukio of this world, and he was excited to see Shiemi again.</p><p>Let’s all hope it goes well, shall we?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... lots of foreshadowing in this chapter. I have a solid plan now so try to pick up on different tidbits I drop. The ending is not one of those, I was not tryna be suttle. Next chapter is gonna be fun :D I love Shiemi. Apologies if this chapoter jumps around a bit, little bit of everything here.</p><p>Please leave a comment if you did enjoy,,, fuel for the ego. And the ego must be fed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry for the large space between this chapter and the last. Test season kind of jumped out of nowhere and murdered me for like a month. I'm back now though! Thank you all for reading and interacting with my fic, it truly fuels my ego. </p><p>This one is extra long, because I got slightly carried away while writing it :')</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yukio grabs the hefty key ring off his belt and goes to open the door. “You’ve got some of these keys too right?”<br/>“Yeah, Mephisto gave me a key for the cram school! They’re pretty handy to have, Mephisto showed me the ropes.” Rin was grimacing as he spoke, his mouth in a grim line. All Rin could think about was the nauseous feeling he’d felt when he’d realised the key had fucked up the first time. </p><p>Okay, questionable reaction to cool magical keys, but Yukio could roll with Rin’s train. Surely showing him the bridge might get a better reaction out of him. He opened the door to a vast blue sky and an old stone bridge.</p><p>“Whoa! We’re up pretty high!” there we go, there was the reaction he was looking for. It put a small smile on Yukio’s face, to see Rin acting so refreshingly... childish. He couldn’t forget the memory of the determined look on his face as he adamantly told him he was going to be an exorcist. Where did that come from?</p><p>The bridge was pretty high up, it seemed to rock as the wind buffeted their faces, Rin squinted as they walked towards the shop. He was wondering about Shiemi, how to get the demon exorcised as quickly as possible. Did he just let it run out like the last time? Or did he immediately intervene, but that wouldn’t be the greatest first impression… the first time he meets Shiemi he immediately blows up a demon still attached to her legs in a wicked bonfire of Satan's flames… wouldn’t be a great move.</p><p>Well, guess he has to go for a compromise.</p><p>Yukio’s voice cuts through his thoughts, and the howl of the wind. “I may have forgotten… non-exorcists can’t come inside the shop. Can I get you to wait outside?” he had the decency to look sorry, scratching the back of his neck as he offered a sheepish smile. It was hard to be mad, he remembered being scolded the last time round for tagging along. Still, its sucked.</p><p>So he did what any good brother would do. </p><p>He rushed forward and grabbed Yukio, sticking his head under his arm and began to (gently) noogie the little nerd. Ahh, pay back was sweet. Not that this Yukio had done anything, but it was fun to tease him anyway, he felt like he had to make up for the lost time, the years of disconnect. He stuck his tongue out, his brother returned it with a grimace.</p><p>It was weird, this little bubble of idyllic brotherly companionship he’d made in this world. Time was funny like that, he felt a disconnect from this time, these people. Because in a way, nowhere felt like home anymore. </p><p>But now it was all he had.</p><p>“Ow ow ow, Riiiin letme go!” Yukio was whining like a petulant child, guess he’d have to keep making up for lost time. </p><p>Tik.</p><p>Tok.</p><p>He ignored the sense of foreboding that shot through him, he knew traveling through time had consequences, and it had been a sudden decision after all. Maybe he’d talk with mephisto about it later, anything he should watch out for. He was the demon of time for all.</p><p>The chime of a clock echoed between his ears.</p><p> </p><p>“Rin? You zoned out there for a second, can you let me go?” Rin let go and threw him away like he’d burnt himself.<br/>“Sorry!” he put his hands up defensively, the smirk he dragged onto his face was weak, Yukio would see straight through it. “I don’t mind waiting outside, I’ll try not to make a fuss!”</p><p>Yukio looked disoriented and unpolished, his hair poking up wildly, and his exorcist uniform slightly skew-if. It was a funny picture.<br/>“Okay, I’ll try not to take too long, just an errand after all.”</p><p>Yukio walked ahead through the gate, not turning around to see Rin’s cautious wave.<br/>“Okay, I’ll… see you later then.” he mumbled, the words drifting off towards the end. He finally let his face relax into a deep frown and huffed. He was so tired of this endless charde, despite the genuineness behind it.</p><p>“Okay, let's get this show on the road.” he began his march towards the gardens gate, retracing his steps in time. The world was quiet, he felt the same shiver of awe as he saw the garden that he had the first time. Except this time it was accompanied by a warm sense of familiarity, and a slight chill of deja vu. </p><p>He walked forward and reached his arm out to grab the gate before it could fall over, the security system stung him as a shock went up his arm. Gritting his teeth as the gate came straight off the latch, he moved it to lean against the fence and walked through. Without the clang of the gate falling over, he hadn’t gotten Shiemis attention yet.</p><p>He saw her sitting beside a garden bed, gently tending to some plant or something or other. She looked peaceful, engrossed in her work, he couldn’t really find the appeal but with a pang of his heart he realised the scene reminded him of his mother. He hadn’t made the connection before, but she had been a tamer after all. Shiemi's stubborn but kind nature was the exact thing that his mother had used to subdue Satan in the first place. </p><p>But he wasn’t a beast to be tamed.</p><p>“Hello! Are you Shiemi?” he knew the answer, of course he knew, but all manner of brain function seemed to disappear as she looked up at him with her big blue eyes. Wide eyed, innocent, confused, emotions all wrapped up in a neat little bow hidden behind the eyes staring back at him. His friend, he’d missed her. A small little smile wormed its way onto his face, he had to fight the genuine admiration he was expressing, platonic bedroom eyes probably wouldn’t make a great first impression for the (relatively) timid girl.</p><p>“Who- how did you get in here?” she looked threatened, just like last time. Well, at least she wasn't convinced he was a demon this time, not that she would be wrong.</p><p>“Sorry, I’m Yukio’s brother. He told me to wait outside for him, but I couldn’t help but be curious about your garden, it's so pretty! So I let myself in.” it was easy to let stars of joy and delight fill his eyes, most of it was real after all. And he did have the courtesy to look a little bit sheepish about the gate.</p><p>He traced her eyes moving over to the gate, watching as her eyes widened further and eyebrows raised. The cogs were ticking in her brain, the moment it clicked, she squinted and immediately her stare was back on him.<br/>“Yukio..? So you let yourself in?” her voice wobbled, distressed. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but according to where <i>his</i> thoughts were racing, it couldn’t be good. <br/>“Yeah, I’m sorry about the gate,” his next words seemed to push the seams of the line he was walking in time, another door opening, “Must be demon-proof, I’m half-demon so it must have reacted funny, sorry.” He scratched his neck, trying his best to come off as chill as possible. Fortunately, his awkwardness was an element that seemed to make the half-demon more endearing than intimidating. </p><p>He knew she’d probably figured something out in the original timeline, a connection between him and the gate, but putting it out and into the light like this was something he’d never considered. He just had to hope, and trust that their friendship was always going to happen.</p><p>The blood seemed to drain from her face as she pulled herself away through the grass and shrubbery, a repeat of last time then. <br/>“Half-half demon? Stay awaaay!!!” she squawked, stuttering in her nervousness as she continued to scuttle like an injured crab through the garden.</p><p>Rin had to make a frantic attempt to save this situation. Deep breaths now, he could fix this, he’d been far less smooth in the past.<br/>“Don’t judge me! It’s not that bad!” he flung his arms around as he spoke, desperately trying to convey a message he couldn’t quite interpret himself. Okay, maybe he wasn’t good with words. </p><p>As she made her escape she missed a root or two, and found her face falling towards the ground, her legs flying in the air.</p><p>A gust of wind blew, carrying the distant sound of bells chiming through the garden.</p><p>“Are you alright?” Rin crouched down, her face was covered in dirt, just like her feet. Oh! Thats right, her legs! “Is something… wrong with your legs?”</p><p>Shiemi just stared up at him with wide eyes.</p><p>“I..” she looked small, a little bit scared. He remembered the story, her grandmother died and a demon took advantage of her vulnerabilities in a moment of grief. Fuck that demon. </p><p>“I’m sorry to change the topic… but could I get you to fix the gate?” she looked up at him, making eye contact this time, and her eyes were burning. She was feeling brave, confident. It made him happy, that even in this moment of fear, before she’d even had the chance to grow, that she still had that bravery, that fighting spirit.</p><p>“Okay.” his small smile only grew wider.</p><p>And Shiemi, privately to herself, in a thought she would later push down in favour of something about ratios for fertiliser, thought that he looked quite pretty when he smiled. The harsh light raining down from a cloudless sky, the chirp of cicadas, wisps of a warm breeze tussling and flicking his hair this way and that. He looked soft, unthreatening, almost like a warm ray of sunshine embodied. The half-demon boy kneeling in her garden, a picture perfect representation of comfort, like coming home.</p><p>How strange.</p><p>It didn’t take long for him to grab the gate and shove it back into place, securing the latch and clicking the metal bars back into the strange magical mechanical hinge.<br/>“There we go…” Rin stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on the menial task.</p><p>Shiemi had the pots of cow-dung fertiliser again, it still stunk to the high heavens. Eugh.</p><p>“I couldn’t pour the fertilizer with the gate lying there.” she continued to poor the fertiliser, her movements spoke of experience, and gentle, delicate care put into the smallest of tasks.<br/>“My eyes are watering, why does it smell so strong!!” his eyes really <i>were</i> watering, small droplets bubbling up and blocking his vision. Shiemi just looked amused, and giggled behind her hand.<br/>“I mix cow dung and water! I work with it all day so I’ve kind of just gotten used to the smell.” she smiled familiarly up at him. “Thank you for the help, with my legs I hardly get anything done. You’ve been helpful!” <br/>“Well I broke the gate… so I really don’t mind.” he crouched down to join her at eye level again.</p><p>“Sorry about putting you to work, I’m surprised you did at all.” She reached out a grubby hand as she put together her next words. “Shall we make up? I didn’t know a demon could be such a nice guy.” her words were sincere, it was a genuine offer, one Rin wouldn’t not take for the world.</p><p>“I guess… I don’t mind being friends.” he blushed slightly as he brought his right hand up to meet hers. He could already feel the dirt rubbing all over his hands as they shook, he already knew there was dung on it. She just looked pleased, ignorant of the dung she had sulied his hands with.<br/>“So what's your name? I’m guessing you already know mine, and I have a feeling your’s starts with <i>Okumura</i>.” she gave him a cheeky wink, was that a joke? Cute.<br/>“You guessed it, Okumura Rin.” he returned her smile, just as a solemn look seemed to overtake her face.</p><p>“You know, this garden belonged to my grandmother.” the trees of green rustled, and Rin was once again reminded of the dirt beneath his feet, and the fauna that made up Shiemi's entire world. “She taught me a lot here. I loved my grandmother, and I love this garden.” she took a moment to stare out at the world, her eye’s lost with emotion, not really focusing on anything in particular. “She died in an accident last winter. She’s gone on ahead to the garden of Amahara. I hope so anyway.” her words were flat, life lost, the birds and bugs seemed to go silent. “I hope so anyway.”</p><p>“Amahara?” he knew, but he wanted her explanation anyway, it would be worth it to see the life return to her eyes.<br/>“Um… the garden of Amahara is where God has gathered all the world’s plants. It exists somewhere in this world, if you go there you can see every plant there is!” there it was, her eyes were lit up again. But not with fury, or bravery, or anything fickle like that.</p><p>Wonder, curiosity, <i>love</i>.</p><p>“It sounds nice, though I don’t really get it.” to him it was just plants, some greenery. But to her? All her dreams would come true if she ever saw it.<br/>“It’s just a myth. Besides with my legs…” oh right, the demon, he was getting to that. But it wouldn’t hurt for Shiemi to monologue a bit longer, would it? </p><p>“But if it really did exist, and I could see all the plants and flowers and trees of the world… I’d want to go.” she was so hopeful for the future, her innocence despite her grief was more than endearing.</p><p>“Rin! What are you doing over there?” ah, there was the party pooper, right on time.<br/>“Heya loser! I’m just enjoying the garden.”<br/>“Yuki!” Shiemi was flustered. “H- hello.” it was cute, and it would be fun to encourage her crush on his younger brother, but for once there was something more important to focus on.</p><p>“Sorry for causing any trouble, but I think there's a demon that needs exorcising Yukio.” straight to the point, Yukio just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.<br/>“That’s… actually what I wanted to check for.” Yukio continued to be ever confused by his older brother.</p><p>Rin decided on invading Sheimis personal space to show off the issue, pulling her kimono up her calves, revealing the bulging roots under her skin. Okay, he would have to navigate around this carefully to not confuse his brother anymore then he already was. “This is roots, right? It’s um… what do you call it, a temptaint?”</p><p>“So is she possessed?” Rin had almost forgotten Shiemi's mother was there, well, he supposed he’d have to deal with her eventually. <br/>“No, I don’t think the demons that strong…” he didn’t really know what else to say, he was still rough on theory, all he remembered was that it fed off her insecurities to make a deal with her, but knowing that much without a proper explanation for why would just be suspicious. </p><p>Luckily, Yukio was, in every timeline, a total <i>nerd</i>.<br/>“Roots, a low level demon, must have possessed a plant and reached into Shiemi, through the soil and her feet to feed off her inner unrest. The demon must be somewhere in this garden, but demons usually capture their victims through conversation.” Yukio squinted, and Shiemi tried to avoid his gaze. “Shiemi, you must have talked to a demon. Any idea of the frame?” Any second now the dam was about to break, Shiemi's mother looked like a kettle about to start spitting and screaming.</p><p>“I haven’t talked to a dem-”<br/>“SHIEMI! Get out of this garden right now!!” it was driven by worry, but Rin still found it hard to sympathise with her. </p><p>The argument continued, a one-sided yelling match, until finally Sheimi yelled those fateful words, “I hate you, mother!!” and then she was gone, passed out like a stone into the grass.</p><p>Rin had acted too late, he knew he had to do something, and fast. He couldn’t keep playing this game of pretend.</p><hr/><p>"Get out here stupid fucking plant! Show yourself!" Rin stood there in the midst of the garden, sheathed sword grasped in hand and eyes lit with a glow, his fangs and ears extended ever so slightly, his rage creeping out to infect his physical form. "What do I have to threaten to get you out here?" his voice sounded hoarse, despite the fact he had only just started yelling. All he got in reply was the chirp of the crickets, and the wind passing through. </p><p>"God dammit… I really didn't wanna have to do this." Rin mumbled to himself, face scrunched up. He readjusted his stance, took a deep breath, steeled himself for what he was about to do, and held his hand out, his pointer finger aiming forward. </p><p>And like a match, his finger lit with a searing bright blue flame, his eyes flickered as the power rose upwards and through his skin. It was hard to control, a single non flickering flame at the end of his finger, but it would definitely be more efficient than lighting himself on fire with a wilder, weaker version of his blue flames. "Come out of the garden… show your face coward, or I'm going to light this whole place on fire and bring you down with it!" the flame on his finger <i>flared</i> with each word he yelled, finally growing to cover his entire fist. </p><p>It didn't take much more than a second for the rumbling under his feet to begin. </p><p>The demon moved through the shrubbery and under the grass like some demonic plant mole, like blood through a vein, shaking the ground as it moved to face him. </p><p>With one final heave, it revealed its form to the light. </p><p>A gigantic orchid rose from the undergrowth, overtaking him in height fairly quickly. It's eyes galred at him, despite lacking eyelids. The sight of the great bushy flower was not at all as intimidating as Rin had remembered, especially without a human life on the line. </p><p>"<i>PRINCE! YOU THREATEN ME, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESEVRE THIS UNJUST HATE!</i>" the overgrown orchids voice was gravely and rough, the plant demon sounded like a smoker. So dramatic too, what did he do to deserve having to deal with such a drama queen. </p><p>He took a few steps back, angling himself close to the ground all the while keeping desperate eye contact with the demon. <br/>"God you dumb bitch! It's not what you have done, it's what you will do!" synced with his cry, Rin sprinted forward and <i>leaped</i>, the tip of the sheathed sword aimed straight at the demons heart. </p><p>He lit the end of it on fire just a little bit, just enough so the sword could actually work as a weapon.<br/>"<i>WHAT ARE YOU DOING PRI-</i>" the overgrown weeds screech was brought to a halt as the fire peirced straight through the demons heart. </p><p>The demon split into hundreds of little petals around him, time seemed to slow as he flew through the air. It was almost calm, here in the eye of the storm, the end of the battle. </p><p>As he skidded to land, he balanced himself, and then shut off the flame from the end of the sword. He stood there, staring up at the sky panting, delicate petals floating to the ground around him. </p><p> </p><p>"Rin?" Shiemi appeared from behind a bush. She must have dragged herself quite a ways through the garden, Rin had decided to fight the battle further in so Yukio couldn't interfere. </p><p>He let the sheathed sword drop from his hand, and a small smile take over his face. <br/>"Hey, Shiemi." he walked over to the girl, put his hands on her shoulders, and <i>pulled</i> her up to stand with him. </p><p>A look of shock passed over her face as she wobbled, but Rin’s hands held her in place. Tears started to form in her eyes.<br/>“I- I don’t understand.” Shiemi was trying not to weep, but Rin only looked at her warmly.<br/>“It’s okay, you’re free now.” his words were resolute, his face steeled. “I killed that stupid demon that was taking advantage of your <i>grief</i>, your mourning. Your Grandmother’s death wasn’t your fault. You will grow, and you will learn, and become stronger than you ever thought you were capable of, and then you will find Amahara, got it?” Rin stood and stared Shiemi down, she didn’t know what to say. </p><p>She looked into his eyes, he was telling the absolute truth, their was no deceit in his words. He truly believed she would find Amahara.</p><p>She straightened out her shoulders, as best as she could under his firm grip, and nodded. <br/>“O-okay.” a wobbly smile creeped onto her face, and the tears started flowing. As her cheeks started getting wet, Rin came back to himself, looking sheepish. His hands lifted off her shoulders, and delightfully, she found herself staying in place.<br/>“Ahh shit, I’m sorry! I overstepped- I just, your dream is important. You should live for you.” he brought a finger up to point at her chest, lightly poking her, and tipping her off balance. She flailed her arms around to balance herself, and looked back up again. A big wobbly smile that matched her own looked back at her, his eyes sparkled in the sunlight.</p><p>“No I really appreciate it. It’s um, it’s nice to have someone believe in you.” her voice was small, but she sounded more confident in her words, despite her red tear stained cheeks.<br/>“Yeah, I find its helpful for the ego, although…” Rin scratched his neck, “You should probably apologise to your mother. Appreciate who you have now, you know?” they stood side by side as he looked at her.<br/>“Yeah, that sounds smart!” she giggled into her palm.</p><p>Together they stood in the garden, petals carpeting the floor as the sun streamed through the canopy of a nearby tree. It was quiet, calm, peaceful. Shiemi found the garden looked much prettier from here, being able to see it standing up.</p><p>The sound of footsteps through the grass broke their silence, they turned around to meet the worried gazes of Yukio and Shiemi’s mother. “Mother?” Shiemi whispered.<br/>“Shiemi! What-” her mother was cut off, as Shiemi ran and embraced ger in her arms, too short to wrap her completely.</p><p>“I’m sorry mother!” her cry pierced through the garden, as her tears started up again, she buried her head in her mother's chest as she weeped. ‘I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have holed myself up- I just blamed myself for Grandmothers death, I miss her so much!” her mother looked down at her daughter warmly.<br/>“It’s okay, I- I probably could of handled it better. I should’ve tried to understand you better, I was grieving too, and I- I should’ve been a better mother, because I knew how close you were to Grandmother.” she hugged her daughter tighter, and the wailing continued.</p><p>Yukio walked up beside Rin and nudged him with his elbow.<br/>“What did you do?” he raised a skeptical eyebrow at Rin.<br/>“I just got rid of the demon, and inspired confidence in a future exorcist!” RIn winked at Yukio.<br/>“Rin, Shiemi has barely even left this garden, and how would she fight- wait you exorcised the demon. <i>Rin</i>.” barely a minute since he’d met up again with Yukio and he was already sick of shit, he might even say it was a new record! But that would be underestimating himself, he’d pissed off Yukio too many times to count.<br/>“Yeah I decided to… take initiative. And it wasn’t like it was hard to beat! Just an overgrown plant, I had it burned out and sent back to Gehenna in no time!” Yukio just stared at him morosely, concern and disappointment clear on his face. His younger brother sighed, and then turned to him.</p><p>“I guess you did a good job, but you can’t go around using your flames, you shouldn’t unsheath your demon sword in a highly flammable garden.” Yukio’s mouth sat in a grim line.<br/>“Oh don’t you worry little guy, I didn’t have to unsheath it, I just focused the flame where I needed it to go without removing the sword from its sheath.” Rin looked incredibly pleased with himself, finding a loophole. Yukio found himself almost impressed with his brother’s creativite antics.<br/>“Uugh, fine, I’ll let you off this one time.” aww cute, the little man was trying to be intimidating, RIn just reached out and ruffled his hair.<br/>“Yeah okay, you do that.” RIn smiled sweetly as Yukio glared daggers into his back.</p><p>Okay, now for Rin to get this show on the road.</p><p>Shiemi had now stopped crying, she was holding her mother's hand, looking comfortable in her own skin as she stood tall.<br/>“Hey Shiemi!” Rin called out to her, waving his hand in the air. She looked up at him.<br/>“WHat can I do for your Rin?”<br/>“How would you feel about attending True Cross Academy to become an exorcist?” Shiemis eyes lit up as he said the words, Yukio’s face darkening in comparison.<br/>“Rin you can’t just invite people to the academy-” Rin cut him off with a shushing finger to the face.<br/>“Ah ah ah, yes I can, all we have to do is ask mephisto, and why would he have any reason to say no?” Yukio continued to glare at his brother, while Shiemi looked ecstatic.</p><p>“Really? I can go to school? I could never go in the past, I was too shy, but, I don’t think I’d mind if you two were there, it might be nice to see yukio everyday.” it was now Yukio’s turn to fluster, “Oh! And it’ll be nice to see you too Rin. I really want to find Amahara, and to do that… I have to become an exorcist!” she was filled with determination.</p><p>Her mother reached out an arm to hold her shoulder,<br/>“Are you sure about this honey?” she was tiptoeing around the issue, not trying to offend the daughter she had just made up with.<br/>“Yes, it’s my dream!” Shiemi beamed up at her, and well… if that smile couldn’t win her over, nothing would.<br/>“As long as it makes you happy dear.” Sheimi just nodded vigorously.</p><hr/><p>It had been a couple days since they’d visited Shiemi, and Rin was back in cram school, zoning out on the desk when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.</p><p>Yukio walked over to open it, and as the hinges cracked a smiling Sheimi stopped through. Yukio whispered something to Sheimi and she nodded, walking to the front of the class.<br/>“Hello! I’m Shiemi Moriyama, and I will be joining your cram school, please take care of me!” she bowed, and Rin listened as the rest of the class reacted behind him.</p><p>Unnoticed, a little white dog with a pink polka dot bow walked in behind her, and trotted over to Rin’s desk, hopping up on the bench beside him.<br/>“Hello Rin.”<br/>“Hey Mephisto.” Rin was trying his best to be inconspicuous, but got distracted when Shiemi looked over at him and smiled, he waved at her, smiling..</p><p>“All went well I assume?” Mephisto whispered into his ear.<br/>“Yeah, although I did go slightly off plan…” all according to a definitely written out plan, obviously, “I’m going to be meeting up with Shura after today’s cram lesson, do you think you can provide me with an alternative sword after I work it with her?” Mephisto side eye’s him as he speaks.<br/>“That can be arranged.” Mephisto settles down on the bench, the time demon obviously ready to nap for the rest of the class.</p><p>Rin listens to the rambling of his brother, and the sound of pencils moving as his classmates (probably Bon) rigorously took notes, and Sheimi mumbling something about herbs to herself. Rin smiled to himself, happy with what he’d accomplished, and let himself drift to sleep, the wooden desk surprisingly comfortable under his head.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I really love Shiemi and I really wanted to do her intro justice,,,, so I got slightly carried away. oops.</p><p>Hopefully this is enough to make up for da wait ;-; itll probs be a week before I update again.</p><p>Thank you so much for reading, please comment for the love of god, ego fuel makes me write so much quicker skhdsahhsa</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading, leave a comment please it fuels my ego. I'll try to update at least once a week, you just gotta stick with me :) </p><p>Also if you see any typos or large grammatical areas please let me know! I dont have a beta reader (although I would like one eventually) so I just read it over quickly and check it through grammarly.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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